Genesis Open
Pacific Palisades, California
After amassing a five-shot lead thru 54 holes, World No. 3 Dustin Johnson cruised to a five-shot win over Thomas Pieters and Scott Brown with an even-par 33-38=71 and a 72-hole tally of 17-under 267.
It’s his 13th PGA TOUR title in 206 career starts and ascends to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) for the first time.
Since the Ranking began (at the 1986 Masters), the 32-year-old becomes just the 20th player all-time to achieve the No. 1-ranking.
In order to attain the top spot, he had to win and now-former No. 1 Jason Day had to finish worse than a three-way tie for third (he finished T64).
Day had held the crown for 47 consecutive weeks after reclaiming it with his win at the 2016 WGC-Dell Match Play.
The Aussie’s first foray at No.1 came after his wire-to-wire gem at the 2015 BMW Championship – his fifth TOUR title in 2015.
Unfortunately, that reign didn’t last very long, giving way to Jordan Spieth, who won the TOUR Championship – and the FedExCup (FEC) – the very next week.
Spieth’s win at East Lake was his fifth TOUR title in 2015 as well, besting Day for Player of the Year honors.
Speaking of, Johnson is the reigning POY after winning three times in 2016, including his first major and the BMW Championship, the penultimate FEC Playoffs event.
This was his first win since the BMW, also as the 54-hole leader. Johnson co-led the 2016 TOUR Championship thru 54 holes but closed in 3-over 73 for T6, seven adrift of champion – and FedExCup winner – Rory McIlroy, who shot 64.
With the victory, the South Carolinian joins Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer as players to have won at least once in their first 10 seasons on TOUR.
This was his 12th career 54-hole lead/co-lead and improves to 7-for-12. Johnson was the declared winner in three of those after the respective tournaments were reduced to 54 holes.
Johnson’s 13 wins:
2017 Genesis: 54-hole leader by 5; won by 5
2016 BMW: 54-hole leader by 3; won by 3
2016 WGC-Bridgestone: came from 3 back w/ 4-under 66; won by 1
2016 U.S. Open: came from 4 back w/ 1-under 69; won by 3
2015 WGC-Cadillac: came from 5 back w/ 3-under 69; won by 1
2014-15 WGC-HSBC: 54-leader by 3; won by 3
2013 Hyundai TOC (reduced to 54 holes): won by 4; R4 cancelled
2012 FedEx St. Jude: came from 1 back w/ 4-under 66; won by 1
2011 The Barclays (reduced to 54 holes): won by 2; R4 cancelled
2010 BMW: came from 1 back w/ 2-under 69; won by 1
2010 AT&T Pebble Beach: 54-hole co-leader; won by 1 w/ 2-over 74
2009 AT&T Pebble Beach (reduced to 54 holes): won by 4; R4 cancelled
2008 Turning Stone Resort: came from 2 back w/ 3-under 69; won by 1
This was the 91st playing of the Genesis Open and 52nd edition at the 7,322-yard par-71 (35-36) Riviera Country Club (18th consecutive).
Due to inclement weather, Rounds 1, 2 and 3 were each contested over two-day periods. Round 2 was played with lift, clean and place in effect. Note: 22 of the 71 players that made the 36-hole cut had to play 36 holes on Sunday, including Johnson.
Cumulative scoring average:
R1: 70.993; R2: 71.616; R3: 70.465; R4: 70.423; Total: 71.012
Johnson, who also led (by one) thru 36 holes, posted rounds of 66-66-64-71 for 16.496 SG: Total.
In the finale, he exchanged three birdies with three bogeys on seven (of 14) fairways and 13 greens in regulation. With circles at holes 1, 2 and 6, the Coastal Carolina product reached 20-under, briefly flirting with the tournament record, but dropped one at the par-4 ninth, his first bogey in 50 holes. At that point however, he had increased his lead to EIGHT.
Johnson came home in birdie-less 2-over, squaring back-to-backs at 15 and 16, but by that time the only relevancy was his margin of victory.
This was his fifth start of the season and third top 10, arriving off a previous-best 3rd at last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
It was Johnson’s 10th visit to Riviera CC, improving to 8-for-10 with seven top 25s –all SEVEN doubling as top 10s. It’s also his sixth top 5 (fourth consecutive).
In Johnson’s last 17 rounds at Hogan’s Alley, he’s par or better in 16 of them, 15 of those in the red.
Johnson’s Weekly Stats (ranking of 71 players):
Birdies: 21 (T1)
Bogeys: 4 (1st)
Par-3 Scoring: 2.88 (T16)
Par-4 Scoring: 3.81 (1st)
Par-5 Scoring: 4.42 (T15)
Driving Distance (all drives): 315.0 yards (1st); ONLY player above 300.0 yards
Driving Accuracy: 29/56 (T45) at 51.79 percent
Greens in Regulation: 56/72 (1st) at 77.78 percent
Proximity to hole: 34’4” (10th)
Putts per GIR: 1.696 (T16)
Total Putts: 114 (T48)
Putts by Round: 26-29-27-32
Scrambling: 13/16 (T5) at 81.25 percent
SG: Off-the-Tee: 5.207 (1st)
SG: Approach-the-Green: 3.263 (20th)
SG: Around-the-Green: 0.663 (43rd)
SG: Tee-to-Green: 9.134 (2nd)
SG: Putting: 7.363 (3rd)
Johnson collects 500 FedExCup (FEC) points for the victory and jumps 27 places to No. 6 in the standings, 894 points behind leader Hideki Matsuyama, who was a surprise missed cut.
Top 10 in FEC standings (points):
1. Hideki Matsuyama (1,697)
2. Justin Thomas (1,627)
3. Jordan Spieth (947)
4. Pat Perez (934)
5. Brendan Steele (840)
6. Dustin Johnson (803)
7. Jon Rahm (771)
8. Mackenzie Hughes (716)
9. Charles Howell III (638)
10. Hudson Swafford (610)
Note: Rod Pampling (idle), dropped from 10th to 11th
With a Strength of Field rating of 567, Johnson collects 66.00 world-ranking points.
Top 10 in OWGR (this week’s finishes):
1. Dustin Johnson (Won); UP two
2. Jason Day (T64); DOWN one
3. Rory McIlroy (idle); DOWN one
4. Henrik Stenson (idle)
5. Hideki Matsuyama (CUT)
6. Jordan Spieth (T22)
7. Adam Scott (T11)
8. Justin Thomas (T39)
9. Sergio Garcia (T49)
10. Alex Noren (CUT on European Tour); UP one
Note: Patrick Reed (T59) dropped from No. 10 to No. 11
17 of the top 25 in OWGR were in the field. TWO finished in the top 10:
No. 3 Dustin Johnson (Won); No. 12 Justin Rose (T4) on 11-under 273 (69-71-65-68)
Honorable Mention:
No. 23 Jimmy Walker (T11)
Other Notables:
No. 16 Paul Casey (T39); No. 17 Branden Grace (T22); No. 21 Matt Kuchar (T22);
No. 22 Phil Mickelson (T34)
No. 15 Bubba Watson (defending and 2x champ WD during R2; 5-over thru 16; 8-OVER total)
No. 20 Brooks Koepka (CUT)
No. 24 Brandt Snedeker (CUT)
Runners-Up:
Thomas Pieters: Making his tourney debut, the World No. 47 hung up a bogey-free 8-under-par 31-32=63 in the final round to post 12-under 272, up 25 places to a career-best T2, and tying the low lap of the week with Wesley Bryan/R3.
This was his seventh career TOUR event and improves to 7-for-7, jumping 13 spots to a career-high 34th in OWGR. His previous-best round was 66 and his previous-best finish was T14, both at the 2017 WGC-HSBC Champions.
The Belgian, a three-time winner on the European Tour, most recently at the 2016 Made In Denmark, collects 245 non-member FEC points bringing his total to 306 – just 13 shy of Special Temporary Membership, which he’s already indicated he would accept if attained.
With a 4-1-0 record at last year’s 41st Ryder Cup, the 25-year-old was the top point-getter for either team, accomplishing the feat as a Captain’s Pick and Cup rookie. He also came in 4th at the 2016 Rio Games, closing with 6-under 65.
While at the University of Illinois, Pieters won the 2012 NCAA individual title on this course en route to National Player of the Year honors.
Scott Brown: The World No. 231 smoothed a 4-under-par 33-34=67 in the final round to reach 12-under 272, up three places to joint second, his first runner-up finish in 140 career starts.
This was his fourth appearance and first top 10. The 33-year-old’s previous best was T39 last year (71-69-68-73).
It’s also his first top 10 of the season in eight starts, seventh straight cash, but first inside the top 40 (T41, Farmers). The Augusta, Georgia, native records his first top 10 on TOUR since T5 at the opposite-field Puerto Rico Open 47 weeks and 21 starts ago.
Incidentally, the PRO is also site of his lone TOUR victory back in 2013. Brown was No. 1 for the week in SG: Putting with a cumulative 9.808, and leaps 117 spots to a career-high 114th in OWGR.
He and Ollie Schniederjans (more on him below) were the ONLY players to put all FOUR rounds in the 60s.
Yahoo! Low Rounds:
R1: Sam Saunders (64)
R2: Cameron Tringale (64)
R3: Wesley Bryan (63)
R4: Thomas Pieters (63)
Leaders/co-leaders by round:
R1: Sam Saunders: finished T49: drops to 0-for-2 as 18-hole leader/co-leader
R2: Dustin Johnson: Won: improves to 6-for-11 as 36-hole leader/co-leader
R3: Dustin Johnson: Won: improves to 7-for-12 as 54-hole leader/co-leader
Draw:
A total of 71 players (70 pros, one amateur) from a field of 143 pros and one amateur made the 36-hole cut of even-par 142.
45 (of 72) EARLY/late
26 (of 66) LATE/early; 6 WD
SEVEN players finished in the top 5 this week, SIX were EARLY/late:
Dustin Johnson (Won); Thomas Pieters (T2); Scott Brown (T2); Justin Rose (T4); Kevin Na (T4); Charley Hoffman (T4).
ONLY, Wesley Bryan (T4) bucked the trend, emerging from the LATE/early ranks, which speaks volumes on his performance.
Did You Know?
It’s been 32 events since the last pre-tourney odds-favorite(s) won. Spieth is the most recent, winning the 2016 DEAN & DELUCA as a 6/1 outright. In fact, the Texan owns the last two wins in this regard, claiming the 2016 Hyundai TOC as a 4/1 favorite.
Spieth was the bookmaker’s favorite this week at 15/2 and finished T22 on 6-under 278 (69-68-72-69), 11 back. Johnson was next in line at 8/1. Spieth’s T22 ends his streak of consecutive top 10s on TOUR at four.
First-timers and/or Rookies:
First-timers: 25
Top-10 finishes: 3
Pieters was top debutant with his two-way T2.
Rookies: 7
Top-10 finishes: 2
Wesley Bryan: Coming off a career-low 63 in Round 3, the World No. 141 back-pedaled to a 1-over-par 35-37=72 in the finale to finish up his tourney debut on 11-under 273, down two spots to a career-best T4, six shy.
It’s his second top 10 in 13 career starts, ninth as a member, brushing aside a previous-best T8 at the 2016 John Deere Classic.
The 2016 Web.com Tour Player of the Year began the final frame in solo 2nd, five back of the would-be-champ and reigning PGA TOUR Player of the Year.
However, due to no re-pairing between Rounds 3 and 4, he played out of the eighth-to-last threesome, teeing off 1 hour and 10 minutes before Johnson, coincidentally both Colombia, South Carolina, natives.
Ollie Schniederjans: The World No. 162 pieced together a 3-under-par 33-35=68 in the final round to conclude his tourney debut on 10-under 274, good for a three-way T8.
It’s his fourth top 25 of the season in nine starts and third top 10. As mentioned earlier, the Georgia Tech alum was one of only two players to put all four rounds in the 60s (68-69-69-68). His season- and career-best is T6 at The RSM Classic back in November.
Season Trends:
10 of 14 winners this season are in their 20s. Johnson, 32, ends that streak at SEVEN consecutive:
Safeway: Brendan Steele (age: 33)
CIMB Classic: Justin Thomas (age: 23)
WGC-HSBC: Hideki Matsuyama (age: 24)
Sanderson Farms: Cody Gribble (age: 26)
Shriners: Rod Pampling (age: 47)
OHL Classic: Pat Perez (age: 40)
RSM Classic: Mackenzie Hughes (age: 25)
SBS TOC: Justin Thomas (age: 23)
Sony Open: Justin Thomas (age: 23)
CareerBuilder: Hudson Swafford (age: 29)
Farmers: Jon Rahm (age: 22)
WMPO: Hideki Matsuyama (age: 24)
AT&T: Jordan Spieth (age: 23)
Genesis: Dustin Johnson (age: 32)
11 of the 14 winners have emerged out of the FINAL group on Sunday. The three outliers:
Hideki Matsuyama: Penultimate threesome: erased 4-shot deficit with 5-under 66; won WMPO in playoff.
Jon Rahm: Fifth-to-last threesome: erased 3-shot deficit with 7-under 65; won Farmers by 3.
Brendan Steele: Third-to-last threesome: erased 4-shot deficit with 7-under 65; won Safeway by 1.
54-hole leaders/co-leaders are now 6-for-14 converting. Hideki Matsuyama (WGC-HSBC), Mackenzie Hughes (The RSM Classic), Justin Thomas x2 (SBS TOC and Sony); Jordan Spieth (AT&T Pro-Am) and now Johnson have been successful.
NOTE: Matsuyama also won the unofficial Hero World Challenge as 54-hole leader.
Patton Kizzire (Safeway), Anirban Lahiri (CIMB), Luke List, Chris Kirk (Sanderson Farms), Lucas Glover (Shriners), Gary Woodland (OHL), Adam Hadwin (CBC), Patrick Rodgers, Brandt Snedeker (FIO) and Byeong Hun An (WMPO), all failed to convert.
Consecutive top 10s on TOUR:
Dustin Johnson: (1st-3rd)
Rory McIlroy: (T4, WGC-HSBC; P1, 2016 TOUR Championship)
Special Mention:
Charles Howell III: With a T15 on 8-under 276, the 37-year-old posted his SEVENTH straight top 15 this season.
Up Next:
The West Coast Swing is in the rear-view mirror as the TOUR heads to The Honda Classic at PGA National’s Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Overnight co-leader Adam Scott won last year’s edition at the 7,140-yard par-70 layout, besting 54-hole co-leader Sergio Garcia by one and four clear of Blayne Barber and Justin Thomas.
Stay tuned to this space for all the latest player news and analysis as the TOUR plays its 15th tournament of the season (of 47).
